School prepares for loss of student

Jasmine Hernandez, 8, was killed in a hit-and-run traffic accident Monday evening. Her unidentified cousin remains in Children’s Hospital in Denver, in serious condition. She is 9 years old.

Jasmine was a fourth-grader at East Memorial.

At the elementary school, counselors were prepared to talk to the kids about their friend who is gone, or about death in general. They didn’t know exactly what to expect Tuesday morning.

A few blocks to the south of the school, Greeley police were back at the scene of the Monday afternoon hit-and-run. Monday night, police arrested a 15-year-old Greeley youth who was allegedly driving the pickup that first backed over the girls, stopped, then left the scene.

Witnesses inthe neighborhood said they saw the pickup drive over the arm of one of the girls as he left.

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Police have not filed charges against the driver at this time, and a second person in the pickup may also face charges. Because the suspect is a juvenile, his name has not been released.

That could change, if the police and district attorney’s office decide to charge the youth as an adult.